Rigg Design Prize 2018

Overview

The NGV's first-ever showcase of Australian interior design, the Rigg Design Prize 2018 is a groundbreaking exhibition that highlights the artistry of 10 local designers shortlisted for the leading Australian design award.

For the exhibition — and coinciding competition — each designer was invited to create a room exploring this year's theme of 'domestic living', with the rooms judged on their use of different materials, methods and design aesthetics.

This year, the $30,000 prize has been awarded to Melbourne design firm Hecker Guthrie. Lead designers Paul Hecker and Hamish Guthrie designed a room entitled The table is the base, which features a table as the centrepiece and uses terracotta throughout. The award's international judge, Shashi Caan said it was the design's simplicity that won it the prize, saying, "this project inherently addresses our social need for smaller footprints for today's responsibly designed domestic space."

It's now on show at the NGV, alongside rooms designed by nine of Australia's leading interior designers: Amber Road, Arent & Pyke, Danielle Brustman, David Hicks, Flack Studio, Martyn Thompson Studio, Richards Stanisich, Scott Weston Architecture Design and The Society Inc by Sibella Court.

The Rigg Design Prize has celebrated the best of interior design since 1994, having undergone a revamp in 2015 when the prize was expanded to encompass the work of designers from outside Victoria.

Images: The table is the base, 2018, Hecker Guthrie; Imaginarium, 2018, The Society Inc by Sibella Court; We've boundless plains to share, 2018, Flack Studio; Our natural needs in a digital world, 2018, Richards Stanisich; Panic room, 2018, David Hicks; Take it outside, 2018, Amber 2018; Inner-Terior, 2018, Danielle Brustman. All photos by Shannon McGrath.